Friday, September 5, 2008

Upcoming Show - Addendum

Some of you asked if I would post what I wrote about my pieces in the "Earth Expressions" show.

As I stated, we were asked to write a short statement that relates the artwork to the theme of the show. Many of the artists chose to skip it, which I can relate to, as I personally don't like to explain my art. I'd rather let my art speak for itself. One reason is that my art doesn't have the accent that I do when I speak English. But moreover, I think that giving a very explicit title to your work or saying too much about it, prevents the viewers from interpreting it in their own ways, which are always fascinating to follow.

Imagine 'The Mona Lisa' was titled 'The Mona Lisa smiles because she has such bad teeth'. Now, wouldn't that take away all the mystery and reduce it to be yet-another-portrait?

Still, being the highly obedient me (for the readers who know me - please do not choke on that last statement...), I decided to give it a go, and found it to be a fun experience: putting in words what I've put with my brush (or printer) on the paper.

As I said, The JohnnyB was a tremendous help (both finding tittles and what to write) - he even expanded his services to gallantly come to the rescue of a lovely maiden who was also fighting with this kind of writing. Hmm... dare I think he was also enjoying it? Thing is, once I got into it, I became unstoppable, so the 2-sentence-only limitaton was actually an even better exercise at being succinct. Kinda like writing a haiku.

And so, there we go.Uhm... ah... (just clearing my throat here)

(To Bill of On Painting blog, the title for this one is 100% courtesy of The JohnnyB, and I do thoroughly apologize if the following shatters your bloody vision of me killing my models...). Title: "Dust to Dust"

"This portrait was painted with walnut ink (a natural product) on Tyvek (a manmade product that lasts forever). The more the painting materialized, it became about the fleetingness of life versus the permanency of some of our creations."

Title: "Open Spaces Blues"

"I took this photo while hiking in an overcrowded park. With all the effort put into preserving open spaces, so that everyone enjoys the same little spot, are we really protecting nature?"

The next one was tricky, as I did not want to reveal WHAT is in the photo. I have quite a few photographs where I wanted the viewer to concentrate on the shapes and textures and bits of color, plus it is so much fun to see people trying to guess what it is. So, I had to keep it very vague. Did I mention I don't like to give away too much? This, by the way, is perhpas my current favorite photo. Perhaps because I just cannot paint non-objective paintings (I always have to toss a figure in...), so taking abstract photos answers that need of mine.

Title: "Found Textures #4"

"So many times I stop in my tracks when I see yet another proof that Mother Nature is the best artist of us all. This is one in a series of photographs on textures found in nature."

That's it. Now I get my act together, frame the painting (the photos are already framed, phew!), update my Bio, go help hang the show (if my Plantar Fasciitis ridden foot allows me - yeah, it still hurts but getting better, thank you for asking!), and attend the reception next Friday.